Husband and wife 'plotted to bomb Tube or Westfield shopping mall just before 10th anniversary of 7/7 attacks but were caught when he Tweeted about it'
- Mohammed Rehman, 25, was obsessed with 7/7 and 'intent on martyrdom'
- He allegedly bought chemicals on eBay with help of secret wife Sana Khan
- Couple allegedly tested and filmed explosives in back garden in Reading
- Rehman, 25, was arrested after posting for advice over planned attacked
- Rehman and Khan, 24, on trial at the Old Bailey - both deny terror offences
A married couple who plotted an ISIS bomb attack on a London tube station or Westfield shopping centre were caught when they posted on Twitter to ask for advice, a court has heard.
The
alleged plot was foiled just before the tenth anniversary of the 7/7
bombings after Mohammed Rehman used the pseudonym Silent Bomber to ask
the Twittersphere for thoughts on the targets.
The
court heard how the 25-year-old stockpiled chemicals - enough to cause
multiple fatalities - after researching the London terror attacks from
his home in Reading.
He
then allegedly bought bomb-making materials on eBay with the help of
his secret wife Sana Ahmed Khan, before filming himself testing a bomb
in his back garden.
A married couple who plotted an ISIS
bomb attack were caught when they posted on Twitter to ask for advice, a
court has heard. Pictured: Police stand guard outside their homes
following a raid last year
But
Rehman was arrested after allegedly posting a public tweet - using a
profile picture of Mohammed Emzawi, known as Jihadi John - which was
seen by counter terrorism officers.
The tweet allegedly read: 'Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be appreciated greatly.'
Then, when the would-be suicide bomber was arrested on May 28, he boasted of having a 'surprise' for police, the court heard.
Rehman
- said to be 'intent on martyrdom' - told officers he had rigged up a
bomb which could be triggered at the touch of a button at his bedside,
saying: 'Nobody gets in the way of my Jihad.'
What
officers actually found were a Jihadi John-style hunting knife and
chemicals for a massive bomb that was just days away from being
completed, jurors were told.
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Rehman, 25, and his Khan, 24, are now standing trial at the Old Bailey charged with preparing terrorist acts on or before May 28 this year. He is also charged with possessing an article for terrorist purposes. Both defendants deny the charges.
Opening
the trial, prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC told jurors that when the couple
were arrested on May 28 as the 'bomb-making wherewithal' was recovered
from Rehman's home.
Jurors were told how Khan had helped to buy the chemicals knowing they were to be used to make a bomb.
They
had tested explosives in their back garden on at least two occasions
and only needed to make a detonator, which Rehman could make in a couple
of days.
Mr
Badenoch told the court how the pair - who had known one another for
ten years but kept it from their families - had a 'common interest' in
violent and extreme Islamic ideology.
Mohammed Rehman allegedly wanted to
blow up Westfield shopping centre in west London (pictured) or a London
Underground tube station
As
well as researching 7/7, they also developed a keen interest in ISIS,
while Rehman's online research showed he 'wished to play his own part'
in their atrocities, jurors were told.
The
prosecutor told Rehman was 'particularly fixated' with 7/7 and referred
to Shehzad Tanweer, one of the suicide bombers, as his 'beloved
predecessor'.'
On the day he posted the tweet, he had also trawled YouTube for material about the London bombings and Tanweer, the court heard.
At the same time, Rehman also tweeted a link to al Qaeda uncensored media released about the 7/7 bombings, the court heard.
Later,
the court heard that Rehman told another Twitter user: 'Why don't you
head to the London Underground on the 7th July if you got the balls.'
Mr
Badenoch reminded jurors that July 7 2005 was the day when 52 people
lost their lives and more than 770 were injured in the 'worst terrorist
atrocity in this country since Lockerbie in 1988 and this country's
first ever suicide bomber attack'.
At
the time of their arrest, just over a month before the anniversary, the
defendants had 'actively researched and shared terrorist material'.
He allegedly wanted to detonate the
bomb in a London Underground, but gave the plot away when he tweeted
about it and asked for advice from followers, the court was told
The
prosecutor said: 'That was not out of idle fantastical interest as they
had also committed themselves to researching, purchasing, testing and
manufacturing a substantial amount of bomb-making wherewithal.'
Rehman had trawled the internet for subjects including 'suicide bomber history', 'dying for god' and '9/11'.
In
one tweet, he allegedly wrote: 'I have other plans if Insha'Allah goes
to plan & I'm preparing for an Istishaadi [martyrdom] operation.'
This
was followed by: 'Now I just make explosives in preparations for kuffar
lol & when I've made the required amount I'll be wearing them on my
chest.'
On
May 28 officers seized more than 10kg of urea nitrate - a highly
explosive chemical - which if detonated 'would have caused multiple
fatalities in a public place', the prosecutor said.
Mr
Badenoch said: 'They were not attention-seeking boasts as the plethora
of chemicals seized at the home of Mohammed Rehman demonstrate.
'Those
chemicals were capable of being mixed into lethal bombs - ready to go,
following one of the many recipes collated in his notebook and stored on
his computer.
Rehman, 25, and his wife Sana Ahmed
Khan, 24, are now standing trial at the Old Bailey charged with
preparing terrorist acts on or before May 28 this year. They deny the
charges and the trial continues
'Given
his prior knowledge, experience and the ready availability of the
chemicals, the manufacture of a detonator would have taken no more than a
couple of days and could have been done by him much quicker, if he
chose to do so.'
After
his arrest, Rehman told police there was nothing dangerous in his home,
despite tweeting that he had 'a surprise waiting for them'.
He
also allegedly said: 'I've rigged my house to blow at the touch of a
button by my bedside if the popo try to raid man. Nobody gets in the way
of my Jihad.' In fact he had not got this far, the court heard.
Police
found a hunting knife in the house which was similar to those used in
extremist imagery as well as the extremely dangerous chemicals.
Mr
Badenoch told jurors: 'It is difficult to conceive of a clearer threat
to counter-terrorism officers than those articulated by him in those two
messages; a "surprise" whether his hunting knife or chemicals, and a
bomb to be triggered to the touch of a button by his bedside, waiting
for law enforcement seeking to counter extremist Islamic terrorism.'
Almost
simultaneously, Khan was arrested at her family home and when asked if
there were any hazardous materials that could injure or kill, she said:
'I don't know, I don't go to his house.'
The couple had known each other for ten years but tried to keep their relationship secret from their families, it is claimed.
They
got married in a secret Islamic ceremony after Khan got a degree in
English at the University of Greenwich in southeast London and found a
job.
Mr
Badenoch suggested Rehman moved towards martyrdom because was unable to
see a future together with Khan, whose family disliked and disapproved
of him.
‘He had very little on the face of it to look forward to in this world,’ said the prosecutor.
Mr
Badenoch described Rehman as ‘an enthusiastic and vocal supporter of
violent and extreme Islamic ideology, keenly applied himself to learning
how to make bombs and gathered all the necessary materials to do
precisely that.’
Khan allegedly also supported extreme Islamic ideology and would be able ‘to condone his actions entirely and celebrate.’
‘She
had played an important part in assisting him, funding and purchasing
chemicals, discussing them and receiving the video of the test
explosion.’
The trial continues.
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